Grocer with Russian roots to open in South Florida

A Russian-owned grocery chain said it plans to open its first U.S. store in South Florida in September.

Okey-Dokey is one of 36 companies hiring for jobs at an upcoming local job fair. The job fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Don Shula's Hotel, 6842 Main St., Miami Lakes.

The grocery chain is being developed by Miami-based Agro-Trade, which said it plans to open up to 30 stores in South Florida by the end of the year. Each store will employ 10 to 16 workers, according to Agro-Trade.

"We see the opportunity. We've done it before, and we know we can do it this time," said Andre Shilenko, vice president of recruiting for Agro-Trade.

The company said it plans to hire more than 500 employees in southeast Florida over the next two years, including in warehouse, store and corporate positions.

Agro-Trade said it has already leased 22 properties and is in negotiation for leases for stores in Sunrise, Plantation and Hollywood. Property records show leases in Miami, North Miami and Sunrise.

"America has come to embrace the different European retail concepts," said Roy Sartin, director of people development at Agro-Trade America. He said Miami was chosen for the first store because of its diverse population.

Okey-Dokey is being developed by a group of senior executives who founded the Pyaterochka discount grocer and the Karusel big-box retailer in Russia. But Sartin said the company is still hiring and won't be ready to disclose its management until early next year.

That group reportedly includes Russian entrepreneur Andrei Rogachyov, listed in Forbes magazine's billionaires list in 2011 as having $1.2 billion in assets. Rogachyov reportedly sold his stake in the Russian retail group in 2011.

Florida corporate records show Ago-Trade's principals as Denis Lepekha, who identifies himself as the former head of corporate management at Pyaterochka on LinkedIn; Alexander Buran, who says he is chief operating officer of Agro-Trade America on LinkedIn; and Igor Vidyaev. Vidyaev is identified as founder of Pyaterochka in Russia & CIS Food and Agriculture Weekly.

Sartin said the U.S. store chain is being financed by a Dutch company, Agro Trade International B.V., with a $500 million investment.

Florida Retail Federation spokesman John Fleming said he was not familiar with the retail chain or its plans to locate in the state. Economic development officials at Miami's Beacon Council also said they don't know the company or its plans.

Sartin said the store chain plans to locate in densely populated residential areas and carry mostly top-selling national brands.

When asked about competing with existing stores in South Florida, including Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets and Germany-based Aldi, Sartin said Okey-Dokey's assortment mix will be broader than other small store designs.